Attorney Hired To Fight Trash Station Plan

December 18, 1985|By Sally Deneen, Staff Writer

LANTANA — An anxious Town Council voted Tuesday to hire an $125-an-hour attorney to fight a trash transfer station proposed a minute away from town, even though they fear they already lost the war to be decided in two weeks.

Monroe Cooglar Jr., a West Palm Beach attorney, was hired to try to persuade Palm Beach County commissioners to scrap the site proposed for the southwest corner of Interstate 95 and Lantana Road. Commissioners, sitting as the Zoning Board, are scheduled to vote on the location Dec. 30.

``We`re not expecting any miracles,`` council member Dave Adams said before motioning to hire Cooglar, whose fees could total $2,500 to $3,750, at a special meeting Tuesday. ``(But) I think we`d be terribly remiss in our jobs . . . if we did not do this.

``I think we`re approaching this with a two-fold purpose: to see if we can`t turn it around and, maybe if it`s lost, maybe we can get some concessions.``

The hiring is part of the new council`s month-long scramble to ward off the site, proposed for at least a year by the county Solid Waste Authority. Council members have asked for help from Lake Worth officials and county commissioners, who largely ignored the pleas, and have scheduled a special meeting for 5 p.m. Friday to come up with further strategies.

The site will draw 500 dump trucks and 44 semitrailer trucks daily through residential neighborhoods, Frank Crigler, a Lake Worth attorney fighting the site for 2,000 residents west of Lake Worth and Lantana, told eight people gathered at the meeting. He was citing figures provided by Kimley Horn and Associates Inc.

The trucks threaten to harm children walking to six nearby schools, Frank Fiedor, Chamber of Commerce president, told the council. And nearby property values could plummet, Mayor Bob McDonald said.

``I think people informed (about the site) care,`` McDonald said.

Council member Dorothy Interlandi disagreed.

``I`ve talked to quite a few people who couldn`t care less. In fact, some are in favor of it because they think their bills might go down,`` Interlandi said, adding that some residents complained loudly when garbage pickup fees rose to $11.

Cooglar said he expects to contact county commissioners and gather other information by Friday.